Mumbai Urban Transport Project

• The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is Mumbai's biggest-ever comprehensive transport management plan.
• It is the first step to improve rail and road transportation infrastructure in the traffic-choked mega-city of Mumbai,  India's commercial and financial center, and one of the most densely populated cities in the world. 

This is also the first attempt in India and the World Bank to resettle such a large number of people in an urban area. The resettlement process itself has become a pioneering exercise in improving the lives of the urban poor. The process has yielded many lessons that will be useful in future projects in India and the world. 

The total project cost is US$945 million. Of this, the World Bank has financed US$542 million. The loan came into effect in November 2002; the project is still ongoing.

Improvements to Infrastructure

The project has increased the speed and capacity of Mumbai's suburban rail system. Some 26 km of additional track has been added to the Western Railway line.  The capacity of trains has increased by 7-10 percent during the rush hours, reducing the travel time of hundreds of thousands of rail passengers. Two new trains are currently being tested. Over 600 Euro-3 standard buses have also been introduced.

Resettlement and Rehabilitation 

More on Resettlement | Feature Story |  Slide Show

• Under the project, more than 16,800 households (84% of the total) have been resettled in proper homes and shops – most families were earlier living in slums along the roads and railway tracks.
  
• The interim findings of an independent impact assessment conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences shows that 80 percent of the resettled people, especially the women, are happier at the resettlement site.
  
• Families now have formal ownership of their homes. Homes are fitted with running water and electricity, with indoor toilets.
  
• At the Mankhurd site - the largest resettlement site under MUTP where about 6,000 families have been resettled - average household income has gone up from almost  Rs.3,000 before resettlement, to over Rs 5,000 now. When adjusted for inflation, this shows a real rise of 30 percent in average income.
  
• At the Majaz resettlement site, the average household income has risen from almost Rs. 5,000 to almost Rs. 8,000 now which, adjusted against inflation, shows a real rise of 26 percent.  
  
• About 50 percent of the resettled families are reported to have bought household assets such TV, fans, mobile phones, cooking gas, etc after resettlement. The findings also indicate that the resettled families now have a new sense of self-esteem, and experience greater safety and privacy in their new homes.

Link to MUTP site of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)